review
Prophet of the devil is a fantasy novel written by the Dutch author, Adrian Stone. A different world and a little bit of magic in the form of channeling give the book the necessary pillars to belong to the fantasy genre. The religious element in the book is by far the most important. The religions in Adrian Stone’s imaginary world are very similar to those of our world. Is there going to be a religious war in his world?
Content
The young Marak, a novice of Cataris, is saved at the end of yet another religious war by a high priestess of Viguru, one of the three cooperating religions. Thanks to her, Marak can participate in the test. If he passes this test, the boy will be initiated into one of the three cooperating religions (Viguru, Vorg and Ava). After a few hesitant attempts, Marak succeeds in passing the test. A discussion begins. Both the Patriarch of Viguru and Vorg do not want an old novelite of Cataris in their order. The patriarch of Ava thinks for a long time and eventually accepts Marak in his order. However, Marak carries deep Cataris roots. An internal struggle and search for oneself begins …
The plot
As a reader you immediately see that this is a debut book. Quite simply because of the errors that can almost be found in every debut. In the beginning of the story, for example, Adrian Stone betrays through one pronounced sentence that Marek has family ties with high figures within the order of Cataris. Sin! A second revelation of the plot concerns the high priest of Vorg. The author does not keep in the doubt that he was not up to much good. In themselves, the above two elements are not decisive for the plot, but they would have given it a spicier edge. The plot would have been even more surprising!
The art of writing
Adrian Stone’s writing style was one that I hardly ever experience. Seldom does an author manage to grab me one hundred percent. The art of writing and the narrative ability that Adrian Stone masters do not let the reader go for a second. The story reads nicely and left me with a mouthful.
The character development of the many characters was done with great precision. No character could be compared to another character in the book. Along with the fabulous elaboration of the four religions Ava, Viguru, Vorg and Cataris, Adrian Stone gave the book a rare depth that I usually miss within the fantasy genre.
Final assessment
The element of fantasy was small, but it did not make the book inferior within the fantasy genre. Prophet of the devil is proof that you don’t always need hundreds of dragons, orcs or other races to write full-fledged fantasy. This is a more than successful debut.
General data
- Title: Prophet of the devil
- Author: Adrian Stone
- Publisher: Luitingh Fantasy
- ISBN: 978 90 245 2946 9